Birthday Presents
by noiremizukii
Summary: Short-story [around 3 chapters]; It's christmas and Takano's birthday. It's already the second time the two celebrate it, but this time they get into a real fight even before the actual day. What will Ritsu have to do, to get Takano to look at him again? *Fluff, R-16 Stuff*
1. So To Not Get Blind

Ritsu let himself fall down on the couch exhaustedly. Lately, work had been such a drag. And it was nearly christmas too. Business really showed no mercy, not even on this time of the year.  
Suddenly he heard the noise of fists banging against the frontdoor._ Don't tell me it's Takano?_, Ritsu thought and shouted: "I'm not taking that, Takano-san!"  
The sound disappeared and the younger man slid down on a pillow on the couch to take a little nap. Tomorrow he would have to get up early and he had been reading way too many shoujo manga lately, all because his grumpy neighbour was teasing him once again that he 'was relaxing way too much during worktime'.  
Ritsu sighed and frowned as he heard the familiar sound of his mobile ringtone buried under a mountain of dirty clothes. Angrily he took the call and yelled at the older man.  
"CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING BY YOURSELF?!"  
"G-gomen! I'm so sorry! I'll try to solve the problem all by myself!", he heard a feeble voice speak at the other end of the conduit. A voice, that ended up in a loud cough. Definitely a female voice, definitely Mutou-san's voice, one of his client's.  
"Wait! Mutou-san! I didn't mean to -"  
But the girl had already hung up on him. Ritsu stared at the phone in awe for a second, before falling back into the pillows._ It's all because it's christmas again. His birthday again. I can't grip a thought!_  
On the other hand, why should he worry about his boss' birthday? That's right, Takano was nothing more than his boss! And...his neighbour! And...his first love...and they had sex time to time...  
It was exactly because of this mess that Ritsu hadn't been able to draw a clear line. To sort out in his head, what the relationship between the two was.  
But right now, he first had to clear yet another problem. Hastily he looked up Mutou-san's number in his mobile's contact list and phoned her. The call got through and Ritsu explained everything in one breath.  
"Sorry, Mutou-san! So sorry! I actually-I didn't mean to say that to you! I thought you were my boss, you know- you know Takano-san?! I'll help you with whatever you need?"  
"Haaaah?! I've no idea what the heck you're getting at. Mind explaining?"  
Takano! It couldn't be he had dialed the wrong number?! But... That's right, recently Takano had been calling him a lot. Sof of course his number would be high up. Just as high up as Mutou-sans.  
"It's got nothing to do with you anyways! Why are you even calling!"  
"Are you retarded?! You're the one who called ME, Onodera! But you know, I don't mind. I was waiting at your door already too. Do you know what day it is?"  
"I don't. Halloween?", Ritsu replied, his nerves shattered. So Takano was still in front of his apartment?  
"Don't be such a hardass. We're lovers now, aren't we?"  
"NOBODY SAID SO. WHAT ABSURD IDEAS ARE YOU IMAGINING, YOU BEASTY, SELFISH, PERVERTED OLD -"  
"So we're fuck buddies?"  
Ritsu shut his mouth immediately. Leaned forward, as if to understand Takano's words clearer. Takano was...right there, probably standing in the cold. And all the younger did was scream at him. Well, it was Takano's fault for visiting him anyways..wasn't it?  
Ritsu ran his hand through the shorts strangs of brown hair withering his eyesight.  
"That's...not exactly true either...", he began to explain.  
"So what am I to you? Your lover? Your fuck buddy? The molester next door that happens to be your boss and first love that gave you his heart so many times, which you just teared apart?"  
By now he was unable to reply.  
Today was the day before Christmas Eve, the day before Takano's birthday.  
And it was the first time that Takano had hung up on a private call of his.


	2. For The Sake Of Ourselves

Takano stared at Ritsu's closed door with a blank face. Here they went again. It wasn't unusual for them to fight, but to have a serious arguement about something like this?

After all, the two of them had spent his last birthday together too. So there was nothing Ritsu had to be hesitant about that. Just how many times would he have to listen to Takano's feelings to be satisfied? Would...his feelings ever change?

Let down Takano went back into his own apartment and sat down on a chair at the table. Unlike his neighbours apartment, his was nearly always cleaned up. The laundry was folded and placed where it should be, the room wasn't smelly either. Though things were like that, he felt his mind being clouded as if he were suffering from a cold.

_Damn that brat._

He collected his mobile phone and stared at the message his friend Yokozawa had sent him:

_'Have you got any plans tomorrow? I'm taking you out. So don't make any. Seriously, don't try to dodge me. I'll break various bones of yours.'_

"Dumb- Ass", he murmured while typing the said. Long ago, he and Yokozawa had been going out. The best word do describe their past relationship would be: relaxing. It had took Takano quite a while to see that 'relaxing' was not what you felt while being around the one you love. When around Ritsu, he never once was able to stay calm. The younger one steadily made him sick with worries, and at the same time he could make him so proud as if it were his own merit. That's what it was like to share your life with your lover.

But they weren't lovers, at least that's what the brownhaired would angrily scream if he were to state that fact. He knew that Ritsu never could be something like a fuck buddy either. He was just too earnest and serious to be like that, though he was able to mess around with An, his past fiancé.

Takano still wondered just where along the lines of Friendship, Love and Hate they were stuck.

Right now he had not the slightest intent to make up with Ritsu though. He knew that Ritsu had been just like always. But that's what made him sick, pessimistic. These constant thoughts he had whenever he couldn't see the one he loved. Thoughts like: Will I be able to be happy again?

Sure, he was happy while around Ritsu. But right now, the younger one couldn't give him the warmth he had given him when he was still "Saga-senpai" and the other one "Oda Ritsu". This time it was Takano's turn to give him this warmth.

How, however, could he do that, when the lingering feelings were slowly fading in himself?

This time, Takano would surely be able to give up on his first love. Surely. If he were to leave Ritsu alone.


	3. Promise Of A Lifetime

The next day Ritsu felt like he had droven a rollercoaster way too often. As he went into the bathroom to throw up, the feeling already vanished again.

Instead he looked at his blank milky-white face in the mirror. There were huge bags under his eyes. How long had it been since he had been able to sleep for a whole night?

As he went back and turned on the radio, they were playing christmas songs all over. Ritsu himself played with the thought of threwing the radio against the wall to shut it up for once and all. But it had been expensive and at a second thought he found his mood swings childish.

On his mobile wasn't a single missed call, and only one message from his fiancé An-chan.

_"I'm coming over with new from your father. I'll be there around 12:00 o'clock. Please be there, Ricchan, it's important!"_

Ritsu felt like he knew already what his father wanted to tell him. It should be stuff about him taking over the company again, a conversation they've had every year around December since he had moved out. Still he couldn't help but take a look at the clock on the wall, just to see that An-chan would soon be there.

And soon was only very vague.

Exactly ten minutes later, Ritsu had put a random shirt on which he saw as clean enough to see An-chan in and hastily combed his hair, he had to open the door for his childhood-friend that greeted him with a smile.

"Quick, An-chan, you must be cold!" Ritsu immediately switched to his worrisome attitude. The one, he always had in front of his fiancé. It was just a habit, him protecting her however old they were since they had always been together. Even Takano had pointed out his 'halfassed feelings' a while ago.

An-chan came in and closed the door behind her, then slowly trapped Ritsu in one of her embraces. "I've missed you so much!"

He blushed, staring at the wall in front of his eyes, the one tearing his and Takano's apartment from each other. He felt like he could see his boss if only he'd look out for him long enough.

"So, what is this 'important, important'-news about?", he asked, leading her to the table to sit down.

An-chan seemed a little embarassed as she sat down and answered silently: "Your father gave you a deadline, Ricchan. He said you'd better be at home for New Year's. To..finally take over..."

Ritsu looked down on his folded hands that rested on the table-plate. "You...know as well as my father...that I'm not going to go. Please tell him. Sorry to drag you into this mess. But I've found something I'm good at now. Something I want to improve at. And that place is where I am right now, at Maruka-"

An-chan had an even more saddened look on her face and he couldn't help but swallow down the end of his sentence.

"It's because of him, right?", An-chan said, finally holding her head up to stare at him directly. "It's a that...neighbour of you. Your boss. The one at the Teito-hotel. I've said it before, Ricchan. You may not know it, but I, who has loved you for a far longer time than you may think, I've never seen you happier and livelier than with this person. You seem even more alive than when you're reading a book. And I've also said...that you shouldn't care about trivial things like age and gender."

"It's not as easy as it sounds, An-chan", he sighed and was surprised that he didn't even have the strenght to deny the fact that he still loved Takano. After all...this...really had to be it, right? It felt like the end of a long long road. One he had gone just to see the end of it.

"I just...want to see the one I love be happier than anyone else. Won't you grant that one wish?"

An-chan was so desperate that Ritsu couldn't say No.

So he sent her home with the promise of a lifetime.


	4. The Doubt In Our Minds Is Suffocating

First thing I want to thank some readers for their support. I WAS ALL TEARY-EYED. Really I didn't think I'd have even one review or follow *cries*. n_n So a big thank you to: Imaginativequeen101 [I was all fired up! *-*], SaySaeri [What you wrote made me laugh very hard :'D imaginary beards are the bestttt -], Samuel [I will! :] and LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Nozomu-kun!

Nozomu-kun, I just have to give you a real special thanks, because your review just build me up really much :) "But for now, I shall always love you and forever be here reading your works. Yay!" I don't know who you are, but hey, I love you 3! And I promise I won't kill Ritsu. That somehow...wouldn't...be a nice birthday present to Takano ... xD

Well, let's come to the new chapter ~

* * *

After he had found his way back in his own apartment and had exchanged various messages with Yokozawa on the way, Takano had let himself fall on the floor, with only the loud noice of his heavy body meeting the wooden ground in his ears. And that was exactly how he woke up on the following day- his birthday.

He usually wasn't like this. Sloppy. Laying on the floor, having bad thoughts. Because, normally, he'd lay on the bed having bad thoughts.

At least he head not done that since he had brought himself up again after Ritsu left him in Highschool. Though it wasn't even himself that had lifted him up, but Yokozawa.

Yokozawa...maybe he should really give in to him today. After all, his beloved didn't seem to really care about today.

"Halloween. You snob", Takano murmured with a sour throat.

He sat up and checked the time with his nearly-battery-died-down-cell which had more than 10 new messages by his old college friend. So he was serious about taking him out today, huh... Takano called Yokozawa, without having to wait for even 3 seconds.

"Don't tell me you're not gonna come", the familiar grumpy voice of the co-worker at Marukawa greeted him.

"Actually I was going to say the opposite."

There was silence for a second. But just a second, before Yokozawa seemed to have checked the work he had left for today.

"I'll come over right now. And I'm going to cheer you up. Take that whatever way you want."

And he hung up to hurry to Takano's place, so he had his work already finished it appeared. Oh Yeah. Takano didn't have to go to WORK today, gladly. That meant, actually he had to, but he should be able to take off once in a while, shouldn't he?

_That's not like you. So not like you. Get your ass up and ready for work and tell Yokozawa that he won't ever have things his way! Tell him you already love someone._

But Takano's mouth wouldn't start moving.

It took 15 Minutes for Yokozawa to take a train to his apartment and open the door, since Takano had given him a key.

"What happened?", he asked, dropping his bag messily. Takano only stared at him. "You going to cheer me up?"

Raising an eyebrow, Yokozawa grabbed his arm. "Oi... I mean it. What's wrong? You look like shit."

Takano took a long time to have a look at his feet, not because he was nervous or didn't know what to say. Just because he wanted Yokozawa and he didn't want him at the same time and wasn't sure how to act yet. With Ritsu, whenever he was around him, there were these clear feelings of wanting to catch him. After all, he needed to be catched, due to his nerve wrecking habit of always running away.

But now he was uneasy.

Of course- he didn't love Yokozawa. He just wanted to feel loved today. Asking himself if being held by his friend would help at all, asking himself if he would be able to forget Ritsu this way. With any way.

And just as that thought was crossing his mind, he heard the closing sound of the neighbouring apartment and a squirky female's voice- An-chan's voice.

Yokozawa still had this confused and sleepy look in his eyes, but now he opened his mouth to question Takano even more. Dissatisfied, angry, frustrated Takano shut him up by covering his lips with his hand and then hastily rushed into his own bedroom to lock himself inside.

For a while after he heard Yokozawa shout after him ["I'M GOING TO BREAK YOUR DOOR!"], but soon the noise died down and he was able to fall asleep in silence, just after seeing himself off with two sadly true words.

Happy Birthday.

* * *

Don't ask me why they can sleep this much. It's because I can make them sleep! And because an editor is ALWAYS sleepy! xD

Hope you enjoy this chapter! Only a few 2-3 chapters more to go ~ CHEEEEERS!


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